Monday, October 29, 2007

Language

Communication is a process by which people exchange information. Language is the most form of communication for people. It can comes in different forms, and the most common ones are the auditory form: spoken language, as well as the physical form: body language and sign language.

Languages are "living" languages which mean that if they are not used, they will die, and even become extinct. It also changes with time.

My children study 2 languages in school - English, their first language and Mandarin ,their mother tongue. However, they seem fascinated with the Indian Language. My son, N loves pretending to speak tamil. He would go: "abu-neh, vani, ta ram, su sey." It doesnt mean a thing, but he thinks it is so funny. And, as a result, Little D tries to as well. A TV ad by one of the telcos is their current favourite, where it is supposedly filmed in Mumbai, India. They know the ad word for word, and even re-enact it with the Indian accent, which is quite hilarious. However most of the time, when they imitate the language, I tell them that they are "talking rubbish". I always tell them that if no one undrestands what they are saying, they are not communicating at all! I also remind them not to make fun of other people's language.

Just the other day, as we were taking our evening walk around the estate, 2 indian men walked by us. They were talking animatedly in tamil. Suddenly, Little D turned to me and said:"Mummy, they are talking rubbish!!"

5 comments:

LOL!!!! Mummy, like the saying goes, children says the darnest thing. But, they are right. You said so.Yes, the telco mumbai rest. ad is the best. I break out laughing everytime it's aired. My children too know word for word! They love the indian twang.